Raphinha Double, Yamal Magic: Barcelona Storm Past Rayo Vallecano 5-2

Barcelona continued their perfect start to the La Liga season with an entertaining 5-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano at the Spotify Camp Nou, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal both scoring twice.

Rayo stunned the home crowd by taking the lead in the 12th minute when Sergio Camello finished Álvaro García’s cutback.

Barcelona made sure to respond five minutes later.

Raphinha levelled in the 19th minute after a brilliant attacking move, before Yamal completed the turnaround just two minutes later with a strike into the top corner marking his first league goal of the season. Barcelona thought they had added a third before half-time when Jules Koundé found the back of the net from a rebound, but the goal was however ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Barça eventually got their third in the 51st minute, although they needed some help from Rayo after Florian Lejeune turned an Anthony Gordon cross into his own net to restore Barcelona’s two-goal advantage. Rayo pulled one back through Camello’s second goal in the 59th minute, but Raphinha restored Barcelona’s two-goal lead in the 71st before Yamal sealed the 5-2 win with a finish in the 90th minute.

The victory means Barcelona have now won all three of their opening LaLiga matches, scoring freely along the way. For Rayo Vallecano, Camello’s brace was not enough to prevent defeat, while Barcelona’s two conceded goals showed that Hansi Flick’s side have defensive areas to improve.

But on an evening dominated by attacking quality, Raphinha and Yamal provided the biggest highlights as Barcelona won to another five-goal victory.